the cutting room mirror

Build 253

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This is a sub-page of Proto:Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Windows).

Narrative Changes#

  • Captain Price looks to have been used as a placeholder in the American campaign. He is seen in USMC gear in The Bog. He was replaced with Lt. Vasquez in the final version of the mission. Price is also voiced by the same person who voiced him in Call of Duty 2 instead of Billy Murray.
  • In this build, training occurred with the USMC instead of the SAS, in a similar environment to Modern Warfare 2's SSDD. The training mission was only removed late in development, sometime between builds 290 and 328. This was probably after Carver's story arc was removed.
  • Crew Expendable was originally intended to be the final mission of the game. The mission would have involved a speedboat chase and a final fight on a beach. This eventually became MW2's final mission "Endgame". According to developers, this mission was very difficult to place, with the cutting of one particular mission (which was not named) permitting it to be moved to the beginning of the game.
  • Al-Asad originally had a larger role in the game, rather than being demoted to a secondary antagonist in favour of Zakhaev.

(Source: Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare - Developer Walkthrough 'Crew Expendable')

Weapons#

The vast array of modern weapons on show has changed a lot since this build was compiled.
Watch on YouTube

Pistols#

  • All pistols re-use animations from Call of Duty 2.
  • All pistols use the Call of Duty 2 Colt .45 (M1911) icon as a placeholder.

Submachine Guns#

  • The Skorpion uses the Mini-Uzi's model as a placeholder.

Rifles#

  • All rifles use the AK-47's icon as a placeholder.
  • The AK-47 has rougher animations.
  • The M16A4's campaign version also has rougher-looking animations.
  • The G36C has a different empty reload animation.

Sniper Rifles#

  • All sniper rifles use the Call of Duty 2 Lee-Enfield icon as a placeholder.
  • The M21 uses the final's M40A3 firing sound and M4/M16 reload sound.
  • The M40A3 has a completely different firing sound.
  • The Barrett .50 Cal uses the Dragunov's model as a placeholder.
  • The cut AW-50 sniper rifle is present.

Shotguns#

  • Both shotguns use the Call of Duty 2 Trenchgun icon as a placeholder.
  • The W1200 has a shorter pump and reuses Call of Duty 2 Trenchgun animations.
  • The M1014 has a different reload animation, where the player inserts a shell into the chamber before loading other shells.

Other#

  • The claymore, instead of having a proper animation for planting, will instead show a "Planting claymore..." bar on the middle of the screen.

Cut Gamemodes#

(Information about these is in discussion - remove when summaries are completed.)

Tag#

Objective: Score points by being "it"; kill the "it" player to become "it"
Map ends: When one player reaches the score limit, or time limit is reached
Respawning: No wait / Away from other players

Acquisition#

Objective: Score points by holding onto the flag
Map ends: When one player reaches the score limit, or time limit is reached
Respawning: No wait / Away from other players

Level Select#

Game#

This menu contains levels that were still planned to feature in the final product. (while other levels are accessible - they were cut and presumably being used for assets)

Mission name

Reported build date

Notes

Kleenex Training

2nd March 2007

Possibly a jab at the new recruit like FNG? (Fucking New Guy)

Cargoship

2nd March 2007

Coup

14th February 2007

Armada

9th March 2007

In the final game, this mission takes place immediately after Blackout instead.

Bog_a

6th March 2007

Bog_b

9th March 2007

In the final game, this mission follows Death From Above (ac130).

Aftermath

18th December 2006

Occurs after Shock and Awe (airlift) in the final game, which does not feature in this build. Confirms that the build date seen in the final game is a typo.

Scout Sniper

6th March 2007

Occurs between Safehouse (village_assault) and Heat (village_defend) in the final game.

Sniper Escape

12th March 2007

Zipline

8th March 2007

Early version of Blackout occurring much later in the story.

Ambush

14th December 2006

Occurs between Heat and Ultimatum (ICBM) in the final game.

Hunted

5th March 2007

Occurs way earlier in the story in the final game.

AC130

7th March 2007

Occurs between The Bog and War Pig in the final game.

Village_assault

7th March 2007

Village_defend

8th March 2007

School

9th March 2007

Cut mission.

ICBM

8th March 2007

Launch Facility A

11th March 2007

Launch Facility B

9th March 2007

Jeepride

23rd February 2007

Airplane

1st February 2007

Test#

Mission name

Reported build date

Notes

vehicledamage

13th March 2007

Bog_a

6th March 2007

Firing Range: Non-assault rifles

20th March 2007

Dev#

Mission name

Reported build date

Notes

Pilot Cobra Day

16th November 2006

Pilot Cobra Night

16th November 2006

Swat

4th December 2006

Firing Range: Assault Rifles

30th January 2007

Firing Range: Non-Assault Rifles

31st January 2007

Interior Concept

19th January 2007

Javelin Weapon Test

16th January 2007

Javelin Weapon Test Night

16th January 2007

MenuTest

30th August 2006

Dog AI

6th February 2007

MenuTest shows an earlier version of the campaign menu. Instead of a static image as in the final game. The background is instead fully animated (not pre-rendered from the looks of it), with the camera panning around a war-torn city that resembles the map Citystreets (District). The menu is dated August 30, 2006, so predates even build 114. The MenuTest contains an early level select that reports the completeness of each level at this point in development. Levels without a corresponding FastFile, such as Seaknight Assault and Designated Marksman, can be selected here but obviously cannot load.

Name

Developer notes

Comments

CQB Test

1st pass

This is Embassy/Immediate Action.

Bunker

1st pass

This is Descent.

Aftermath

100% initial geo

Chechnya Escape

40% initial geo

Marksman

25% scripted

Seaknight Defend

Prototype Level, 30% scripted

Wetwork

100% initial geo

Cargoship

10% scripted

Bog

35% scripted

Training

5% scripted

AC130

30%

Seaknight Assault

Initial geo in progress

Pilot Cobra

Initial geo in progress

Developer Levels#

These levels were never intended to appear in the final product, and are merely used for testing purposes, to test the game's various features and mechanics.

Swat#

This level was used to quickly test updated enemy AI and scripting. It's a run-of-the-mill test level, and is also the only level where the Default Weapon can be found and used through normal means. When all of the Spetsnaz enemies outside are dispatched, the message "A winner is you!" is shown, obviously referencing Pro Wrestling.

Firing Range#

COD4_PreAlpha253_Firing_Range.png

Firing Range: Assault Rifles

COD4_PreAlpha253_Firing_Range_Non-Assault_Rifles.png

Firing Range: Non-Assault Rifles

These levels were used to test weapons quickly. Two versions of this level exist, Firing Range: Assault Rifles and Firing Range: Non-Assault Rifles, which both have a different variety of weapons as the names suggest.

Interior Concept#

This level was most likely intended to test indoor lighting effects. The level features two houses outside, with one featuring a randomized USMC soldier that stands still, and the other being much less detailed. Pressing left on the D-Pad will change the lighting to an orange haze.

Javelin Weapon Test#

This level was used to test Javelin pathfinding. The Javelin locks on five specified objects in the level, all indestructible: two parts of a building, two active tanks below the ground, and an idle tank that's behind the player.

Javelin Weapon Test Night#

This level is simply a night variant of Javelin Weapon Test.

Dog Survival#

This level was used to test dog pathfinding. Here, USMC soldiers fight Spetsnaz enemies that bring out attack dogs to hunt both the soldiers and the player down.

Vehicle Damage#

This level was used to test destructible vehicles. The level gives you an AT4 on the floor along with ten cars to explode. Eight of these cars are idle, two of them move in circles, and one of them cannot be destroyed (the bus).

Create-a-Class#

Watch on YouTubeCreate-a-Class is present in this build and is in a much more rudimentary state than the final game. It can be accessed via the command openmenu menu_cac_qnd.

General Differences#

  • The AK-74u is classified as an assault rifle rather than an SMG in the final game.
  • The M21 is called the "M14 Scoped".
  • The premade classes are called Recon, Warfighter, in this build.

Perk Differences#

  • Perks are called "Specialties" in this build, which explains why the perks are prefixed with "specialty_" in the final game's files.
  • Special Grenades x3 was instead 3 separate perks for each Special grenade, with the perks themselves giving the player 4 grenades instead of 3.
    • Frag x3 also gave the player 4 grenades.
  • Eavesdrop is called "Parabolic Microphone", and is in the first perk slot.
  • Stopping Power is called "Soft Point Bullet".
  • Deep Impact is called "FMJ Bullet", and is in the second perk slot.
  • Steady Aim is called "HPBT Bullet", and is also in the second perk slot.
  • Bandolier is in the second perk slot.
  • Overkill is called "Akimbo".
  • The grenade launcher is a perk instead of an attachment in this build, and is in the second perk slot.
  • RPG-7 x2 is also in the second perk slot.
  • Juggernaut is called "Armor Vest".
  • Bomb Squad is in the third perk slot.
  • Sonic Boom is in the third perk slot and is called "Bomb Scare".
  • The third perk slot has a cut perk named "Scout", which lets the player spot enemies and expose them on radar. This perk has a Create-a-Class icon in the final game.

Remnants from Previous Call of Duty Games#

  • In this build, intro.bik is the introduction video copied straight from Call of Duty 2.
  • There is a reference to Burnville, a mission from the first Call of Duty game, starting at line 82591 in autoreplay1.svg.
  • There are many references to Dawnville, a mission from the first Call of Duty game in autoreplay1.svg.
  • There are many references to Red Army Training (moscow), the first mission in Call of Duty 2 in autoreplay1.svg.
  • A fix for a bug in Stalingrad Sewers, a mission from the first Call of Duty, is found starting at line 43713 in autoreplay1.svg.
  • There is a reference to gully_assault, a cut mission from Call of Duty 2, starting at line 82585 in autoreplay1.svg.
  • The executables are labelled CoD 3. (e.g. CoD3SP.exe) Screenshots from earlier builds indicate an internal name of CoD 3.

Cut Weapons and Vehicles#

The following weapons and vehicles feature in this build, or have remnants, but were cut from the final game.

Bizon#

Reference to this weapon can be found in aitype/enemy_terrorist_smg_bizon.gsc and aitype/enemy_merc_smg_bizon.gsc in embassy.ff.

FAMAS#

Reference to this weapon can be found in aitype/enemy_merc_ar_famas.gsc in embassy.ff.

MAC11#

Reference to this weapon can be found in aitype/enemy_terrorist_smg_mac11.gsc in embassy.ff.

Five-Seven (fn57)#

Reference to this weapon can be found in aitype/ally_sas_black_shtgn_winchester.gsc in embassy.ff.

Videos#

  • If the player stays idle on the campaign menu, a short clip from Black Hawk Down will play. In the game's files, this video is called attract.bik.